Crochet, Imanaga toss scoreless frames as AL stymies NL 5-3
ARLINGTON, Texas - Boston Red Sox All-Star Jarren Duran slugged a two-run home run in the fifth inning against the National League, as the American League won the 94th MLB All-Star Game 5-3 on Tuesday evening.
The NL provided the fireworks first with Shohei Othani, but the AL got the last laugh.
Duran earned the All-Star Game MVP honors with that homer.
Crochet, Imanaga toss scoreless frames
Two Chicago pitchers earned All-Star nods, and both did not allow a run.
Garrett Crochet and Shota Imanaga both tossed scoreless innings in their All-Star appearances. Crochet allowed a hit on 18 pitches. Imanaga did not allow a hit on 15 pitches.
Both pitchers took the mound in the fourth inning and recorded a strike out.
Skenes Shines
Paul Skenes became the fifth rookie to start an All-Star Game, retiring Steven Kwan, Gunnar Henderson and Aaron Judge for the National League in a hitless first inning on Tuesday night.
The 22-year-old right-hander, who has just 11 big league appearances, started Kwan with a 98.2 mph four-seamer and retired the major league batting leader on a 99.9 mph pitch that Kwan popped up with an 0-2 count.
Henderson hit a weak comebacker on a 93.5 mph sinker and Juan Soto worked out a seven-pitch walk. Judge grounded into a forceout on the next pitch.
Skenes threw seven fastballs of up to 100.1 mph, seven splinkers of up to 94.4 mph, one curveball and one slider. He threw 11 of 16 pitches for strikes, starting all four batters with strikes.
He took the mound to Smash Mouth's "All Star" wearing high socks with horizontal bands of yellow, light blue, maroon and navy.
Skenes' 11 big league games became the fewest for an All-Star and he joined Dave Stenhouse (1962), Mark Fidrych (1976), Fernando Valenzuela (1981) and Hideo Nomo (1995) as the only rookie starters, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Last year's No. 1 pick in the amateur draft, Skenes made his big league debut on May 11 and is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA for the Pirates, striking out 89 and walking 13 in 66 1/3 innings.
Othani brings the fireworks
Shohei Ohtani put the National League ahead in the All-Star Game, hitting a three-run homer in the third inning off Boston's Tanner Houck on Tuesday night.
Ohtani walked in the first inning against Baltimore's Corbin Burnes, then came to the plate in the third after Jurickson Profar singled leading off and Ketel Marte reached on a 109.5 mph hit that deflected off second baseman Marcus Semien.
Houck fell behind 2-0 in the count and Ohtani drove a splitter over the middle of the plate 400 feet into the right-field seats for his first All-Star home run.
He became the first Los Angeles Dodgers player to homer in an All-Star Game since Mike Piazza off Cleveland's Charles Nagy in 1996 at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium.
A four-time All-Star playing 11 days after his 30th birthday, Ohtani was with the NL for the first time after leaving the Los Angeles Angels to sign a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ohtani was the first two-way All-Star for three straight years through 2023 and got the win in the 2021 game at Denver's Coors Field when he retired Fernando Tatis Jr., Max Muncy and Nolan Arenado in the first inning. He is not pitching this season following elbow surgery last September.
Ohtani is hitting .316 with an NL-high 29 homers, 69 RBIs and 23 stolen bases for the Dodgers.
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